Modernism
Concrete Ideas
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The book Concrete Ideas: Material to Shape a City was launched in January, 2012. Edited by Pina Petricone, the book considers new approaches to concrete architecture by exploring a variety of new technologies and possibilities for the material. First introduced by Pina’s article in Concrete Toronto, the book is a compilation of ideas, articles and...
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NFB Screening One Millionth Tower Dec. 6
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On Tuesday, December 6th the National Film-Board is screening its collaborative documentary, One Millionth Tower. ERA will be at the event discussing its involvement in the documentary, along with representatives from the United Way, City of Toronto, NFB and the Mozilla Foundation. All are welcome to attend the event, which will run from 6:00-8:00PM at...
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Maple Leaf Gardens marquee restoration
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The very public face of the on-going Maple Leaf Gardens adaptive reuse project was installed this morning. The restored marquee recreates the historic character of the iconic building signage, which was in place for decades. It was a recognized priority for both Loblaws and Ryerson to honour and evoke the rich and varied history of...
Read MoreThe Donald Standard Chemical Building
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Rural architectural heritage extends beyond farm houses and small towns. Last summer, ERA helped the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario in support of the Green Step Project, an initiative to rehabilitate an abandoned industrial site east of Bancroft as showcase for environmental stewardship, heritage, and building technologies. A Nationally Significant Historical Site built in 1909, the...
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North York Modern in the Standard
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The Toronto Standard discusses North York’s emergence as a modernist heritage hub. Please also have a look at the full publication of ‘North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited‘, produced by ERA last year.
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ERA x Sweden
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This month a number of ERAers took a trip to Sweden, in order to kick off a neighbourhood rejuvenation project at Semlal Lagerlöfs Torg in Gothenberg. Following the extensive site tour and project brief, the team visited precedent projects in Stockholm, Malmo and Copenhagen to view the latest in housing design and neighbourhood renewal from...
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Modern Toronto Homes
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Modern Toronto Homes maps contemporary residences in and around Toronto. Quite a few important contemporary houses are still missing (KPMB, Superkul, etc), but look forward to checking back as the inventory grows. A great initiative which helps demonstrate that infill housing doesn’t need to be faux-historic or banal by nature.
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UPACE
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York University, 1960s. York University was established in 1959, with the first classes held in Falconer Hall at the University of Toronto. In 1962, after the province gave the university approximately 600 acres of land at the northern edge of the city, UPACE (University Planners, Architects and Consulting Engineers) was formed and commissioned to prepare...
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The Suburbs
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Above: 32 Saintfield Road by Jerome Markson, 1961 In the 1950s and 60s, Toronto’s Bridle Path was not just an enclave of faux-châteaux, but an architectural hotbed for Toronto’s young modernists looking to execute designs for clients with large lots, and large budgets. Greatly varying in materiality and form, these houses convey the experimental spirit...
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Gander International Airport Lounge
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Stuart McLean and the Vinyl Cafe were broadcasting from Gander, Newfoundland this weekend, and opened the show with a description of the International Lounge at Gander International airport. Once an essential stop-over for refueling planes traveling from New York to London, the Lounge has been almost magically frozen in time. A 2005 New York Times...
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Fogel Residence
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Inspired by this photograph of Irving Grossman’s Fogel Residence on TOBuilt, we went to the library and dug up a bit more information about this now-demolished modernist gem. Built in North York, Ontario, and completed in 1959, the Fogel Residence was a finalist for the Massey Medals in Architecture in 1961. Scanned photocopies from the...
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Fairfield and DuBois
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Fairfield and DuBois are the third firm profiled in our series on Toronto’s Modernist Architects. Below is an excerpt from North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited, augmented with photographs featured in Concrete Toronto. Robert Fairfield graduated from the University of Toronto in 1943 with a Bachelor of Architecture, where he was awarded the Toronto Architectural Guild...
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North York’s Modernist Favorites, Volume Three.
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In compiling the revised inventory for the North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited publication, ERA staff traveled to each site and photographed the current condition of the building. Through this process a number of projects stood out and became quiet favorites, and over the next few weeks we’ll be highlighting a few of these under-appreciated, little-known...
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Jack Klein and Henry Sears
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Over the next few weeks, the E.R.A. Office Blog will be presenting a series of biographies of Toronto’s modernist architects. The second in this series are Jack Klein and Henry Sears, who built many housing projects in the former Municipality of North York, and yet very little is known about them. Below is an excerpt...
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Peter Dickinson
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The O’Keefe Centre for Performing Arts, 1960. In the vein of raising awareness for Toronto’s modernist legacy, BlogTO has a good little feature on Peter Dickinson (1925-1961) inspired by the recent monograph authoured by John Martins-Manteiga and published by Dominion Modern. Born in England and educated at the AA, Dickinson immigrated to Canada in 1950. ...
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North York’s Modernist Favourites, Volume Two.
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In compiling the revised inventory for the North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited publication, ERA staff traveled to each site and photographed the current condition of the building. Through this process a number of projects stood out and became quiet favorites, and over the next few weeks we’ll be highlighting a few of these under-appreciated, little-known...
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North York Modernist Favourites, Volume One.
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In compiling the revised inventory for the North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited publication, ERA staff traveled to each site and photographed the current condition of the building. Through this process a number of projects stood out and became quiet favorites, and over the next few weeks we’ll be highlighting a few of these under-appreciated, little-known...
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Montreal Trend House to be lost?
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The fate of Montreal’s Trend House is currently uncertain. A demolition permit has been issued, but support for preservation is growing rapidly. Dave Leblanc has a very interesting article in the Globe and Mail concerning the on-going local debate, and the ramifications for our larger shared built culture. To quote: I’ve said it time and...
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Irving Grossman
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Over the next few weeks, the E.R.A. Office blog will be presenting a series of brief biographies of Toronto’s modernist architects. The first in this series is Irving Grossman. Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am Synagogue, 1959 Born in Toronto in 1926, Irving Grossman earned his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Toronto in...
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Download North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited
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Download the full 2010 edition of North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited in PDF format. A hard-copy of this booklet was made available at the November 9th, 2010 North York Modernist Architecture Forum. North York’s Modernist Architecture Revisited is an extension of and complements ERA’s 2009 reprinting of the original 1997 report and inventory. It includes...
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North York Modernist Architecture Forum on Tuesday November 9th
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ERA with Heritage Toronto, the City of Toronto and the North York Community Preservation Panel will be hosting an evening of presentations and discussion on the former city’s Modernist stock. The evening will be hosted by Heritage Toronto executive director Karen Carter with presentations by the Globe and Mail’s Dave LeBlanc, Heritage Toronto’s Gary Miedema,...
Read MorePeople per Hectare _ Toronto by Numbers
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Density is one of the key tools currently used for planning cities. Architects, planners, and policy makers all use density as a calibration of the city. We want to make our cities better, more vital, more full of possibilities. As our cities change, we want to propose change intelligently. To change intelligently, we need to...
Read MoreJerome Markson: Houses and Housing 1955-1980
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Legendary architect Jerome Markson came in and gave a presentation on the residential projects produced over the first third of his career – from 1955 up until 1980. He showcased a number of experimental single family housing designs, and his transition to multi-family and social housing projects. Alexandra Park featured heavily, and we were all...
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North York’s Modernist Architecture
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ERA Architects assisted with a recent forum on North York’s modernist architecture, which sought to raise awareness for modernist buildings and landscapes in the city of Toronto. The event included a panel discussion consisting of Dave LeBlanc (Globe & Mail), Leo deSorcy (City of Toronto Planning Division), Kim Storey (Brown and Storey Architects), and...
Read MoreDownload North York’s Modernist Architecture
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Download the full 2009 edition of North York’s Modernist Architecture in PDF format. This document contains the complete, unaltered original 1997 report and inventory, along with updated photographs and new contributions from Lloyd Alter, Geoff Kettel, Edith Geduld, Moiz Behar, Michael McClelland, Kim Storey, Leo deSorcy, Helene Iardas, Joey Giaimo, and William MacIvor. The PDF...
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